When we released each other, I spied Nadia nearby as she’d decided against joining in the surge of affection. She didn’t wear a dress like the rest of us, opting for a more formal rendition of her usual pants and tunic. I didn’t think she planned to join us for the ball this evening.
“Heading out so soon?” I mused to her.
Nadia smirked. “A night of stuffy ball gowns and tasteless food sounds like an absolutely dire time.”
The food would be divine, but to a vampire… I supposed her palate would be seeking out blood instead.
“We’re going to Althenia,” Drystan cut in, coming over after speaking with Nyte and Zathrian.
“Why there?” I quizzed.
Drystan pulled the monocular telescope from his side, twisting it in his hand. “There’s so much unexplored about the ungoverned lands of Althenia. Who knows what secrets could be hidden in plain sight,” he said mischievously.
“Don’t get into any trouble,” I warned playfully.
Drystan’s twinkling eyes took that as a challenge.
The ball was as extravagant as I had braced for. Nyte and I barely got to dance with how often we were pulled aside to talk to lords and ladies and gushing citizens. The hope and joy sparking through the hall was worth the endless talking and slow pull of exhaustion.
Before the end of the dancing and feasting, Nyte stole me away as we managed to elude the guests and slip out of the ballroom. He took me up higher in the castle until we stepped outside and I found Eltanin, barely able to fit on the wall, waiting for us.
“Are we going somewhere?” I asked.
“Yes,” was all he provided.
Giddy to discover the surprise, I eagerly mounted Eltanin and he slipped in behind me.
After a few moments enjoying the embrace of falling dusk, I leaned over to discover we were flying over Althenia now.
A gasp left me at the prism of color that expanded below.
“Is this North Star?” I asked.
Nyte had told me about this place. It’s where the Mirror of Passage was. This is exactly where Nyte had arrived in my realm centuries ago, and that fact turned these grounds even more precious.
He led me inside the temple, and I followed like a ghost on a leash, with our hands joined. There was a sacred aura surrounding this temple, and I treaded lightly toward the colossal shard of mirror that pierced the land as if it had descended from the heavens.
“This is the last part of me I haven’t been able to share with you until now. A glimpse into the realm where I came from.”
Nyte reached a hand toward the mirror, and my heart lurched as though it might swallow him.
He paused, letting go of my hand to slip his arm around my waist. A promise that, should it try to take him from this realm, it would never take him from me.
My heart thundered as I watched him reach his fingers toward the mirroragain. When he made contact, I gripped his jacket when it rippled as though it were made of liquid silver.
Then color started to flood as though a painting formed across the surface. Stroke by stroke, images came together in a breathtakingly vivid reel.
I saw red-peaked mountains rising sharply against a molten sky, their jagged summits kissed by the glow of sunlight. Between them, phoenixes soared, their blazing forms streaking trails of flame like triumphant comets. Each flap of their immense, fiery wings sent cascades of embers spiraling downward, illuminating the valleys below in a dance of light and shadow.
It was as if the mountains guarded a vast, commanding city, encircled by a massive circular wall, much like Vesitire’s though on a single level. The stone of its fortifications glowed faintly as if it had absorbed the fire of the phoenixes themselves over centuries.
At the city’s heart stood a castle unlike anything I had ever seen. It wasn’t blackened stone nor cold in design like ours. Instead, its structure seemed forged to embrace the sky and the creatures that ruled it. Broad arches and towering spires gave it an open, regal air; its dominating courtyard was designed so the phoenixes could land with ease. A massive phoenix emblem was painted in its center.
The castle seemed like a haven that welcomed the firebirds home from the endless skies they dominated, a place where power and grace intertwined in perfect harmony.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed.
Tearing my eyes away from the stunning scenes unfolding, I reached my fingers across his neck, tugging his collar down until I could trace the points of the constellation he wore.
